Topshop Unique Spring 2013

The Clothes:Topshop goes minimal--and yes, 90s-inspired--for spring with a really chic and expensive-looking collection. The muted palette of graphic black and white was punctuated with the occasional Big Bird yellow and soft pink. Transparent skirts and dresses were strategically blocked with thicker fabric to cover naughty bits. Boxy and slightly oversized coats and vests were standouts. The whole collection had a sense of flow and ease. Nothing was tortured, overworked, or excessively styled. Can you say 90s minimalism?

What the Show Notes Said: Well, technically there were no show notes, but we found a blurb about the collection in the Topshop magazine: "Bauhaus was a reference for us, after the exhibition in London this summer. It's about the layered and textured look of the tapestries...We have been influenced by a nineties aesthetic too--like Corinne Day's pictures of Kate Moss."

The Hair and Makeup: Very pink eye shadow that almost veered into too-pink territory, rosy cheeks and bare lips. Hair was in a side part that was slick on the short side and generally messy with fly-aways.

The Vibe: Buzzy and young. The Tophsop venue was a tent set up in a park, complete with offerings of champagne, lemonade, and various sweet and savory treats. The runway was a spaceship-esque oval with tiny lights around the perimeter.

The Soundtrack: Remakes of Blondie's "Heart of Glass" and Hall and Oates' "I Can't Go For That"

WTF Moment: Cara Delevingne (who's walked pretty much every major show at LFW) looked like she stumbled and then had a bit of a giggling fit during her finale walk, which became contagious as the last few models in the line broke their poker faces and actually *gasp* smiled!

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Topshop channeled Elizabeth Taylor's campy and flamboyant Cleopatra for their spring 2012 Unique show. And boy, did they take that theme and run with it. Anna Wintour and Naomi Campbell (yay, my first supermodel sighting in London!) were both front and center, as was Topshop owner Sir Philip Green. Alas, no Kate Moss, dashing our hopes that perhaps she may soon be involved in another collection.
From the slicked back hair covered in gold leaf to hieroglyphic graffiti on everything, this collection was for a modern Egyptian queen, albeit with a quick detour through the 80s and early 90s hip hop. Black and gold were the prominent colorways, and the message here was, "Go body-con or go home." Gold squiggles (super 80s moment here!) and gold hieroglyphics adorned everything from tube tops to bike shorts to tight dresses.

Kudos to Topshop for pulling the best front row I've seen all week--hell, all month. Demi Lovato (on crutches after a foot injury), Daisy Lowe, Pixie Geldof, One Direction's Louis Tomlinson and his girlfriend Eleanor Calder, Kate Bosworth and her husband, and Olivia Palermo all wedged in next to each other to take in the show, which opened with the totally-inescapable model of the moment Cara Delevingne.
Like the front row, the collection offered an eclectic mix.

Topshop took last season's '90s-inspired looks in a more carefree, unconventional direction for a collection inspired by "where the wild heady days and endless freedom of summer see the days and nights all roll into one."

LONDON--Besides the fact that Topshop starts every show off with a half hour "reception" (read: cocktail party, usually with food), there are many reasons to love this particular show. There's usually a buzzy front row, and Anna Wintour always shows up, too, while Topshop owner Sir Philip Green walks around beaming at everyone. Plus they democratically give everyone a seat gift instead of just the front row, and best of all...you actually have a chance in hell of actually affording something you love on the runway.
All of the above was true yesterday.